A CUMBRIAN couple, who run a popular Turkish resteraunt in Cockermouth have been raising funds to help those affected by the devastating earthquake in Turkey - amid worry for members of their own family who they are still unable to get in touch with in the region.
Mehmet and Tracy Durmus, owners of Aspava restaurant in Cockermouth are still trying to get in touch with Mehmet's sister and uncle in the affected area, which Mehmet grew up in.
The powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake in parts of Turkey and Syria was followed by a series of aftershocks and more than 2,300 people were killed, although the authorities fear that death toll will rise as the search for survivors continues.
Tracy said : "My husband and all of his family are from that area of Turkey and when it first happened we couldn't get in touch with anybody, we realised very quickly how bad it was, we have got Turkish tv at home and what they are showing on there is way more than what we are seeing here and it's just devastating, it's heartbreaking.
"We have got a personal connection to this and we want to help as much as we can because we know they have got nothing.
"We have got a staff member who used to work for us he has gone back to Turkey a few months ago and he has lost 60 membes of his family and still counting."
"Luckily his dad and sister are actually here visiting us, with us having the businesses we struggle to get time to go out there so they have been here since before Christmas and thank god they have.
"We still can't get in touch with one of his uncles and his sister in the village, there is nothing, we cant get in touch with them at all we are just getting snippets from the main town which is near the village.
"We think they are okay, but we haven't had word from them directly.
The have set up a Go fund me page and plan for Mehmet to take any donations back to his hometown of Islahiye + Kayabasi Koyu in Turkey to help those most badly affected when he is able to.
READ MORE: UK sends rescue specialists to Turkey in aftermath of devastating earthquake
Tracy said: "As much as we can raise Mehmet is going to actually go out there and give it to people in his home town whoever needs it the most and whether it will be buying water for them or building materials."
"It's like watching a disaster movie on television you just can't even imagine."
"The town which is nearer to where he is actually from, that is probably as big as Carlisle, half of that is just flattened."
The couple have thanked people in Cumbria for the kindness they have shown in their donations.
READ MORE: Cumbria Freemasons donate thousands to support Turkey and Syria
Tracy said:"We have got people stopping us in the street, obviously we have been in Cockermouth over five years, everybody knows us, Cockermouth is like a little family community.
"I have people stopping me on the street giving me donations, writing everybodys name down so we are going to be letting people know what's going on when Mehmet gets out there, obviously we don't know when that is going to be at the moment because they don't want people to travel in there.
"We are so grateful for what people are doing, we are just a lttle cog in a massive wheel, we just want this money to get to th people who desperately need it and obviously that is going to be the smaller towns, they have still got peopl trapped and time is going now."
To donate to the Go Fund Me page you can click here.
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